Parenting resources and webinars

Resources and webinars for parents and carers

Throughout this page you will find presentations, webinars and short videos produced by Starting Well Partnership staff and staff from across the NHS to support you and your family.

Sun Safety

Babies and young children can become ill during very hot weather. Their health can be seriously affected by dehydration, sunburn, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

Follow these tips to help keep your children cool and safe during hot weather:

Try to keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm, when the UV rays are strongest.
Playing in a paddling pool is a good way of keeping babies and children cool. Keep the pool in the shade during very hot weather and supervise the children carefully at all times.
Run them a cool bath before bedtime.
Keep your child's bedroom cool during the day by closing blinds or curtains. You can also use a fan to circulate the air in the room.
Keep nightwear and bedclothes to a minimum. If your baby kicks or pushes off the covers during the night, consider putting them in just a nappy with a single well-secured sheet that will not work loose and cover their face or get entangled during the night.
A nursery thermometer will help you monitor the temperature of your baby's room. Your baby will sleep most comfortably when their room is between 16C and 20C.

You can find more tips on keeping your baby safe in the heat

Water Safety

Over the summer months, many families set up paddling pools in their gardens or visit sources of open water such as rivers, lakes, outdoor pools and the sea to cool down from the heat.

Yet every year accidents occur due to people not taking simple water safety precautions such as:

Always look for warning and guidance signs
Look out for lifeguards - only swim at lifeguarded swimming sites
Wear a buoyancy aid or life jacket if participating in activities on the water
It's colder than it looks - open water and inland sites are often much colder than they look, and cold water can affect your ability to swim/ self-rescue
Get out of the water as soon as you start to feel cold
Don't go too far - always swim parallel to shore, that way you are never too far away from it
It's stronger than it looks - water currents can be strong. If you find yourself caught in a rip tide - don't swim against it, this will tire you out. Swim with the current and call for help
Bring a friend - always bring a friend when you go swimming, so if anything goes wrong you have someone there to help
Never enter the water after drinking alcohol

You can find more advice and guidance on summer water safety from the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS).

Animal Safety

Many families have pets and having pets can help teach our children kindness as well as helping to develop their social skills. When introducing a pet to your household, we recommend you introduce rules to ensure everyone can live happily and safely together.

Make sure that young children and pets are never left unattended together – even for the shortest time. Even if they seem to have got used to each other there is always a risk. As babies and young children may like to get close to animals to show affection, but this is not how animals show love they may find it frightening and lead to them biting or scratching.
No matter how gentle and well trained your pet might be they still rely on their animal instincts and they can react in unexpected ways when they are frightened or stressed. This can make animals like dogs dangerous and sadly result injury or death in children by family pets.
Make sure your children understand how to treat your pet with respect and not to push, pull or lay on them, or do anything that may cause your pet distress or harm.
Be mindful when feeding your child around your pet. Always try to feed your child away from your pet and never on the floor with your pet.
Do not allow your pet to sleep with young children in their beds, cots or baskets, this poses a risk of suffocation

For more information and top tips on keeping children safe around dogs or preparing a dog for a new baby can be found on the following websites:

RSPCA - Keeping children safe around dogs

Institue of Health Visiting - Keeping babies and children safe around dogs in the home

The Dogs Trust - Preparing your dog for a new baby in the family and home

PDSA - How to keep them safe and happy